Census-designated place · Sampson County, North Carolina

Plain View, North Carolina

Plain View is a census-designated place in Sampson County, North Carolina. It has 1,741 residents. Plain View, North Carolina has a quality-of-life score of 18 out of 100 (very low), ranking #12,767 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within North Carolina it ranks #363 of 458 cities and towns. It ranks best on job growth (high), social associations (high) and comfortable days (high). It ranks worst on dental care shortage (high), unemployment rate (high) and mental health care shortage (high).

18Very low

Quality-of-life score: #12,767 of 15,651 cities and towns
North Carolina: #363 of 458 in NC
Population: 1,741 (2020-2024)
Land area: 17 mi²
Density: 104.6 /mi²
FIPS code: 3752685

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 73 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety23#12,020/15,637
Economy37#9,831/15,631
Housing46#8,102/14,977
Health35#10,140/15,609
Healthcare3#15,146/15,650
Environment30#10,766/15,453
Education33#10,492/15,649
Infrastructure28#11,205/15,650
Community57#6,682/15,651
Leisure & amenities15#13,333/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Plain View, North Carolina ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Sampson County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Job growth · high1.9%
87/100North Carolina 0.8%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataSampson County value
Social associations · high14.1 /10k
87/100North Carolina 11.2 /10kUnited States 9.1 /10k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteSampson County value
Comfortable days · high30.3%
79/100North Carolina 30.0%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationSampson County value
Child care cost burden · low24.9%
75/100North Carolina 25.1%United States 27.9%2023 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteSampson County value
Voter turnout · high70.0%
66/100North Carolina 72.9%United States 65.2%2024U.S. Election Assistance CommissionSampson County value
Physical inactivity · low21.6%
66/100North Carolina 24.9%United States 26.5%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate

Weaknesses

Dental care shortage · high20.0
1/100North Carolina 11.5United States 5.7Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationSampson County value
Unemployment rate · high16.4%
2/100North Carolina 3.8%United States 4.3%2020-2024U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Census table B23025High uncertainty
Mental health care shortage · high19.0
4/100North Carolina 12.3United States 9.9Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationSampson County value
Drought exposure · high93%
5/100North Carolina 79%United States 43%Oct 2025–Sep 2026National Drought Mitigation Center (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), USDA and NOAASampson County value
Traffic deaths · high32.8 /100k
6/100North Carolina 15.0 /100kUnited States 12.3 /100k2020-2024National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationProvisional dataSampson County value
Life expectancy · low71.9 yrs
7/100North Carolina 76.1 yrsUnited States 77.6 yrs2021-2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteSampson County value

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

PopulationFalling
1,853 (2015-2019) → 1,741 (2020-2024)
−6%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
47.7% (2015-2019) → 79.1% (2020-2024)
+31 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Average commute timeWorsening
18.3 min (2015-2019) → 35.0 min (2020-2024)
+92%5 yearsCensus table B08013US 26.9 min → 26.4 min
Rent as share of incomeWorsening
19.4% (2015-2019) → 36.9% (2020-2024)
+18 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Unemployment rateWorsening
0.0% (2015-2019) → 16.4% (2020-2024)
+16 pts5 yearsCensus table B23025US 3.7% → 4.0%
Child poverty rateImproving
13.9% (2015-2019) → 0.0% (2020-2024)
−14 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Plain View, North Carolina improved on 1 of 5 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 4 moved within the margin of error and 0 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved1

Broadband+31 points47.7% → 79.1%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 5 measures

Change of every measure of Plain View, North Carolina between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Broadband subscriptions	47.7%2015-2019	79.1%2020-2024	+31 points	Improved	98%
Effective property tax rate	0.95%2015-2019	0.77%2020-2024	−0.2 points	Within the margin of error	53%
High school diploma or higher	86.4%2015-2019	91.5%2020-2024	+5 points	Within the margin of error	82%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.3682015-2019	0.3922020-2024	+0.024	Within the margin of error	31%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15075 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Plain View, North Carolina five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Plain View, North Carolina in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

No place that looked like Plain View, North Carolina five years ago has more measures that improved than declined, with a higher standing among its peers today.

For comparison, Plain View, North Carolina itself moved +2.9 points in standing on average over the same 4 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

1,741 residents (±459)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79†
60–69†
50–59†
40–49†
30–39†
20–29†
10–19†
Under 10†

Share of all residents, each sex

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: 10–19 women (+5.7 points).

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B01001View table on data.census.gov

Race and Hispanic origin

1,741 residents (±459)

Plain View, North Carolina
North Carolina share

White80%1,386
Black13%†230
Hispanic or Latino3.4%†60

Education

1,183 residents (±306)

Plain View, North Carolina
North Carolina share

No high school diploma8.5%†101
High school or GED52%†610
Some college17%

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

738 households (±173)

Plain View, North Carolina
North Carolina share

Under $25k31%†230
$25k–50k18%†134
$50k–75k8.8%†65
$75k–100k16%†118
$100k–150k24%†179
$150k–200k1.6%†12
$200k or more0.0%0

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B19001View table on data.census.gov

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

738 households (±173)

Plain View, North Carolina
North Carolina share

Own83%613
Rent17%†125

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B25003View table on data.census.gov

Rent paid

75 households (±65)

Plain View, North Carolina
North Carolina share

Under $7500.0%0
$750–1,00053%†40
$1,000–1,50031%†23

Home values

613 homes (±146)

Plain View, North Carolina
North Carolina share

Under $150k33%†203
$150k–250k31%†187
$250k–400k19%†

Age of homes

789 homes (±178)

Plain View, North Carolina
North Carolina share

2010 or later12%†93
2000–200923%†183
1980–199932%†

Size of homes

789 homes (±178)

Plain View, North Carolina
North Carolina share

Studio1.9%†15
1 bedroom0.0%0
2 bedrooms9.1%†72

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

632 workers (±239)

Plain View, North Carolina
North Carolina share

Drive alone72%†457
Carpool20%†129
Public transit0.0%0
Walk0.0%0
Bike0.0%0
Work from home3.6%†23
Other3.6%†23

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Carpool (+20.4 points).

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B08301View table on data.census.gov

Time to get to work

609 workers (±225)

Plain View, North Carolina
North Carolina share

Under 15 min23%†139
15–29 min32%†196
30–44 min19%†

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Sampson County, the county holding most of Plain View's residents.

Sampson County has 1,014 employer establishments, 169 for every 10,000 residents (0.68× the US rate of 248; 0.71× North Carolina's), with 12,611 paid employees at an average annual pay of $48,176. The Census Bureau also counts 4,441 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 1,014; 4,441 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 169; US 248 · North Carolina 237
Paid employees: 12,611
Average annual pay: $48,176; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Sampson County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Specialty trade contractors	85	14.2	0.92×About typical	419	$46,520	493
Religious organizations	81	13.5	2.43×More than typical	427	$21,948	—
Restaurants and other eating places	78	13	0.71×Fewer than typical	1,157	$17,332	18
Ambulatory health care services	70	11.7	0.56×Fewer than typical	860	$52,679	121
Truck transportation	41	6.8	1.35×More than typical	151	$49,338	281
Limited-service restaurants	38	6.3	0.79×Fewer than typical	626	$17,762	7
Full-service restaurants	36	6	0.78×Fewer than typical	476	$17,454	6
Gasoline stations	33	5.5	1.70×More than typical	245	$27,159	—
Building equipment contractors	32	5.3	0.89×About typical	122	$43,639	84
Automotive repair and maintenance	28	4.7	0.93×About typical	85	$41,271	137
Child day care services	28	4.7	1.91×More than typical	261	$25,146	109
Construction of buildings	27	4.5	0.60×Fewer than typical	111	$37,577	221

Rank places for an industry Open Sampson County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 59,984 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

In FY2026, an estimated $0 of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Plain View, North Carolina: $0 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $0
Per resident: $0; US $1,994
Sole-source: —; US 30%
Single offer: —; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

Top recipients

Spending by fiscal year

856.6FY2017
2.5KFY2019
38.4KFY2023

What was bought

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 3, 2026, loaded Oct 3, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Plain View, North Carolina, so they do not add up across cities.

Plain View, North Carolina's figures are part of those of Sampson County, NC ($352.1K in FY2026), never added to them: 0.0% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Plain View is mostly in Sampson County.

See federal money in Sampson County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Plain View, North Carolina is split between congressional districts: each representative is shown with the share of its residents in their district (current boundaries).